ST HELENS winger Ade Gardner believes last week’s fierce encounter against Wigan was perfect preparation for Sunday’s Carnegie Challenge Cup semi-final. Saints take on Huddersfield Giants with a coveted Wembley spot up for grabs, on the back of a 10-6 victory in last Friday’s hard-fought derby at the GPW Recruitment Stadium. Gardner told the Echo: “It was a really tough game, end-to-end stuff with a lot of completions. “It was just like playing semi-final football and it should stand us in good stead for this week and the run-in to the end of the Super League season.” Saints will be appearing in an amazing ninth consecutive Cup semi-final, having won their way through to the final on six of those occasions. It’s the sort of experience Gardner believes may be crucial when push comes to shove against the Giants. He is also reluctant to re-visit the devastation of losing out one step before the big occasion. “We know what it takes to win these types of games although I’ve been on the losing side in one semi-final against Hull in 2005. “It’s a really bitter feeling if you get beat in the semis. “On the weekend of the Challenge Cup final, you can’t help feeling you should have been there. “We’ll take a lot of confidence from what we’ve achieved previously but you have to judge each game on it’s merits. “We’re going to have to be on our game. “We’ve been a bit scratchy in the last couple of weeks but we’ve seen signs of improvement. “We’ll have to improve some more this week against this Huddersfield side.” Saints have been doing it tough in terms of injuries over recent weeks with numerous players on the treatment table. Gardner is hopeful some of those casualties will be back in the saddle on Sunday but also has faith in the players waiting in the wings. “Obviously we’ve had a lot of people out with illness and injury and it has been difficult. “Losing the number of players we have would be disruptive to any side. “But I think just about everybody is back on board now and we’ve shown we’ve got some strength in depth.” Although Saints are the bookmakers favourites, they face a stern test against a Giants outfit that has won its last six games. Gardner said: “Defensively they are absolutely outstanding.” | 
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